A follow-up to Wikinomics, the best-selling management book of 2007, Macrowikinomics offers nothing less than a game plan for all of us to fix a broken world.

Drawing on an entirely new set of original research conducted with countless collaborators in fields such as healthcare, science, education, energy, government and media, Macrowikinomics tells the stories of some of the world's most dynamic innovators, from a global citizen’s movement working to reverse the tide of disruptive climate change to for-profit startups that are turning industries ranging from music to transportation on their heads.

The authors argue that collaborative innovation is not only transforming our economy, but all of society and its many institutions. Now the onus is now on each of us to lead the transformation in our households, communities and workplaces. After all, the potential for new models of collaboration does not end with the production of software, media, entertainment and culture. Why not open source government, education, science, the production of energy and even health care?

As this book shows, these are not idle fantasies, but real opportunities the new world of wikinomics makes possible.

Commentary

Macrowikinomics is an essential education for everyone on the planet. Its scope, breadth and overall coverage of developments in our interconnected society provide insights substantially backed up by examples of an emerging new reality that opens our minds to incredible possibilities of collaboration we had never dreamed possible. This book is a life-changer. After reading Macrowikinomics, you will not think in the same way.

An oft-quoted saying by Albert Einstein, "problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them," is apt for this book. Authors Dan Tapscott and Andrew D. Williams do a splendid job, continually astounding the reader with their depth of their research, scope of material covered and the innovative connections they describe, effectively demonstrating that a new way of thinking can truly exist and lead to new ways of behaving as a society, as governments, as businesses and as concerned and responsible individuals.

Wikinomics, published by the authors in 2007, set the scene for peer collaboration and cyberspace-connected citizenship, in itself an illuminative provocation to a different kind of action. Macrowikinomics goes further by suggesting that the Wikinomics way, based on five key principles (collaboration, openness, sharing, integrity and interdependence) "for achieving a world that is secure, prosperous, just and sustainable," is a compelling imperative, and not merely a nice option for techno-geeks. Macrowikinomics, then, is a "way to rethink and rebuild all of the old approaches and institutions that are failing," or as per the book's subtitle, a way to "reboot business and the world." The collaborative age is here, say the authors, and those who do not get on board risk being "ever more isolated."

In the book, we learn about the application of macrowikinomics principles in the financial services industry, in addressing climate change, remodeling higher education, reinventing the media and entertainment industries and in creating value at government level. The first of these explorations looks at "opening up the financial services industry" in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, and the "fresh and radical thinking" that is required to make financial modeling more realistic and more equitable. This involves doing away with "toxic assets" by moving to open, collaborative peer-reviewed valuation of financial products such as that made possible by the OMC platform, which enables improved financial valuations to be created collaboratively by academics, industry experts, analysts and financial professionals rather than relying on the traditional behind-closed-doors approach of the financial sector.

Equally, the principles of open crowd-sourcing can apply to Venture Capital, as demonstrated by the Vencorps initiative, which uses the crowd to determine levels of funding to new initiatives - which had might not made the VC radar using traditional methods. This contributes to growth and new economic possibilities for all.

Finally in this chapter, peer-to-peer banking is also discussed, with Zopa (whose advertizing states: "where real people sidestep the banks, and everybody wins, except the fat cats"). Prosper, Smava and Qifang (a way to give students in China an equal opportunity to fund their education), all presented as social banking models which create a new meritocracy in the virtual economy, opening up routes to financial opportunities for many who cannot find equitable solutions in the traditional banking industry.

In what other ways can Macrowikinomics move us forward as a global society? Enter the chapter that deals with climate change, and the way mass collaboration can save the planet. Tapscott and Williams talk about the "erroneous assumption underlying conventional wisdom… that politicians and other powerful interests can manage climate change with new regulations issued from a patchwork of national capitals around the world," urging us to push for an approach that requires less central control and more self-organized mass collaboration.

Already today, there is a new generation of energy prosumers that are entirely off-grid. Companies such as Nike and Best Buy are using a GreenXchange database to collaborate for clean innovation. The authors mention Google lobbying for open standards, Apple's iPhone and the apps explosion, Zipcar and other businesses that are building a new model of reindustrialization. Also of interest is the prowess of the Danish market's use of renewable energy in part by encouraging massive local ownership of wind turbines, made possible by collaborative networked intelligence and the exploitation of digital possibilities.

However, addressing climate change alone is not enough to make our society entirely sustainable. Security, social justice, an inclusive global economic agenda are all aspects of sustainability, which solutions to climate change won't address. The macrowikinomics approach supports advances in these areas too, not least by providing collaborative platforms for governments, supporting social innovation, reducing bureaucracy and inviting citizen influence - such as in the German city of Hamburg where participatory budgeting exercises using an online budget app enable the submission of "citizen budgets" for discussion in local parliament.

Business is part of a holistic whole and cannot be seen as separate from the global sustainability agenda. As such, the opportunity for businesses to exploit the new digital age becomes a way to manage risk and even a matter of survival. This is where macrowikinomics meets corporate social responsibility and sustainability, as the stakeholders of every business are part of a networked economy in which all can and should be encouraged to collaborate, providing new ways of addressing global issues for the benefit of all.

The business applications in this new, networked world may be daunting but nonetheless preferable to the alternative which is more of now. The authors do a good job in presenting and countering the arguments opposing networked intelligence (Is online collaboration killing privacy? Is social networking ruining true relationships and destroying communities? Etc.) and lead us to the conclusion that we have no choice but to "reboot business and the world using wikinomics principles as our guide."

Ultimately, macroeconomics is about ethics, human rights, social justice, stakeholder engagement, innovative responsible business practices and a new kind of corporate role in society. If this is not the heart of the corporate sustainability agenda, then it's hard to know what is.

It's convincing. It's scary. It's exciting. Macrowikinomics is a masterpiece of a book that I strongly recommend to all who think "wiki" is just about collaborating to produce an online encyclopedia. I also recommend it to all those who would welcome hundreds of examples and ideas to inspire them in becoming a part of the new networked world.